One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Ruidoso can be read to determine when it's possible to plant lantana.

Planting Calendar for Lantana

Frost tolerance for lantana:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost.

Lantana require warm weather which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant lantana in Ruidoso is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant lantana and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your lantana may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your lantana indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Ruidoso the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -5°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ruidoso is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Ruidoso there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your lantana in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ruidoso

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Ruidoso

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Ruidoso.